Suspects in Hazleton Death Headed to Trial

HAZLETON — The two men accused of killing a man over an iPhone have been ordered to stand trial for murder. Police said the two men from Luzerne County beat the other man and left him for dead in Hazleton back in August.

Police said Mitchell Dedes and Breon Judon beat Aaron Reznick to death this summer, all because of an iPhone.

Today in court, a sergeant from the Hazleton Police Department read statements that Dedes and Judon gave to police.

Mitchell Dedes and Breon Judon left a district court in Hazleton after their statements to police were read out loud for the first time.

In them, both Dedes and Judon said they got into an argument with Aaron Reznick, 29, over an iPhone and drugs on Carson Street in Hazleton back in August.

They told police they stripped Reznick, held him at gunpoint, put him in a car trunk and stomped on his head until he died. In the statements, the two men blame each other for the beating.

Newswatch 16 asked Judon’s attorney how the blame game between Dedes and Judon would affect the case.

“I think at this time, we just really need to wait for more of the evidence to be disclosed by the commonwealth in order to see how things are going to progress,” said Allyson Kacmarsky.

Two friends took the stand and testified that Judon and Dedes told them about the beating, a point that Assistant District Attorney Daniel Zola said will help his case.

“Most importantly, it corroborates what the other two witnesses testified to as what they were told by these defendants,” said Assistant District Attorney Daniel Zola.

A sergeant with the Hazleton Police Department testified that a lot of the physical evidence in the case is still being examined. The defense asked to dismiss the charges because of a lack of evidence, but the judge decided to keep those charges and continue with the case.

“There was no presentation of any blood evidence or fingerprinting evidence at this time,” said Kacmarsky.

“I think the evidence was clear and convincing, and we’re looking forward to presenting that same evidence at trial,” said Zola.

Both of the friends who testified said neither one of the two defendants made any mention of drugs. So for now, prosecutors are just sticking the iPhone as the motive behind Reznick’s death.